Tow tie-in method



April 30, 1968 R. wooo ETAL 3,380,135 I TOW. TIE-IN METHOD Filed June 1, 1965 INVENTOR. CARL R. wooo BY JOSEPH M. MC cow/v ATTORNE United States Patent 3,380,135 TOW TIE-IN METHOD Carl R. Wood, Gulf Breeze, and Joseph M. McCown, Pensacola, Fia., assignors to Monsanto Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Delaware Filed June 1, 1965, Ser. No. 460,417 8 Claims. (Cl. 2872) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method of incorporating a threadline into a moving tow by severing a threadline and blowing a loose end formed thereby into the tow by means of properly directed fluid jets.

The present invention relates to a method for incorporating or tieing-in a separate threadline into a moving tow by one or more properly directed fluid jets.

Various textile manufacturing processes involve handling of tows traveling at high speeds. Heretofore it has been diflicult to incorporate a further threadline into such a moving tow without danger to operating personnel or substantially without damage to the threadline or the tow, since the tow may pass through various nip rolls, fluid baths, and the like. This problem has been effectively solved by the method and apparatus described :below.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a method for incorporating a separate threadline into a moving tow.

A further object is to provide such a method which is particularly adapted for use with a rapidly moving tow.

A further object is to provide such a method which produces minimum damage to the tow and threadline.

A further object is to provide such a method which does not require manual threading of the threadline along the entire path of the tow.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accttdingly comprises the several steps and the relation of one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others thereof, which will be exemplified in the method hereinafter disclosed, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic perspective view of an exemplary spinning machine incorporating the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view, partly broken away, of the preferred embodiment of the tie-in apparatus; and

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIGURE 2.

The practice of the present invention is illustrated in FIGURE 1 as applied to spinning machine producing a plurality of threadlines, which are then combined in side-by-side relationship to form a tow 24. Threadline 22 is extruded from a corresponding spinneret 26, and, after solidification of the threadline, a finish liquid is applied thereto by finish wheel 28 located below spinneret 26. Threadline 22 next passes through a plurality of wraps about feed roll 30 and separator roll 32, then past an idler roll 34 to travel generally horizontally to the right as viewed in FIG. 1. Several other identical spinning positions produce other threadlines, which are successively combined as one proceeds to the right along spinning machine 20, to form the tow 24.

Tow 24 is fed past tie-in station 36 and through nip rolls 38 to take-up mechanism 40 generally illustrated as a jet piddler of the type disclosed in Koster, Patent No.

2,447,982. Tow 24 is preferably maintained under light tension in the vicinity of tie-in station 36, for example by providing a slightly greater peripheral velocity of nip rolls 38 than of feed rolls 30. By light tension is meant that the tension on the tow is below that level which would be required to significantly draw or elongate the tow.

Tie-in station 36 includes a fluid jet mechanism 42 mounted on frame member 44 adjacent tow 24. Auxiliary optional tow supporting rolls 46 and 48 are mounted on frame member 44 on opposite sides of jet mechanism 42, to support tow 24 during operation of jet mechanism 42.

As best shown in FIG. 2, an auxiliary frame member 50 extends forwardly from frame 44, and supports jet mechanism 42. Jet mechanism 42 includes a pair of isolated hemi-toroidal chambers 52 and 54 having first ends connected together by a hinge 56. A magnet 58 normally urges the opposite ends of chambers 52 and 54 into contact while permitting chambers 52 and 54 to be separated and pivoted apart about hinge 56, to facilitate in troduction of an individual threadline. Fluid supply passages 60 and 62 extend through frame 44 for supplying a pressurized fluid to the interior of chambers 52 and 54 respectively. A plurality of jet orifices 64 in each chamber extend from the chambers interiors in directions convergent on tow 24. The pressurized fluid may conveniently be air.

Referring to FIG. 3, the fluid exiting from the jet orifices 64 forms an angle a with the portion of tow between the point where the fluid stream contacts the tow and the take-up mechanism, as distinguished from angle A formed with the portion of tow between the point where the jet stream contacts the tow and spinning machine 20. The significance of these angles will be explained below.

It'may be assumed that the polymer is beginning to be extruded from the leftmost spinning position in FIG. 1, and that it is desired to add threadline 22 to the tow 24, which latter is already threaded through the entire apparatus and being collected by mechanism 40. The end of threadline 22 is caught by an auxiliary take-up means 25, which may be a conventional waste-collecting aspirator gun, such as those disclosed in US. Patents 2,634,491 or 2,667,964. Threadline 22 is then strung up around feed roll 30 and separator roll 32 and carried along under idler roll 34- to tie-in station 36. Upper chamber 52 may then be pivoted upwardly momentarily to permit placement of threadline 22 through the toroid of jet mechanism 42. Threadline 22 will now be substantially parallel with and closely adjacent tow 24, although still physically separate therefrom.

Threadline 22 is incorporated into tow 24 by momenta-rily blowing an intermediate section of the threadline into an adjacent intermediate section of the tow with a blast of fluid through jets 64, while substantially simultaneously severing the threadline at a point near the intermediate section of the threadline and between the intermediate section of the threadline and the auxiliary take-up means by turning the auxiliary take-up means perpendicular to severing means 33 and pulling threadline 22 down and across cutting edge 35. The fluid stream from the jet momentarily separates the filaments or threadlines composing tow 24 and permits the newly-cut end of threadline 22 to be forced into the interior of the tow by the fluid stream. It should be noted that the new threadline 22 need not be manually threaded through nip roll 48 and piddler 40 but that it readily threads itself along with tow 24, with very little likelihood of development of filament wraps around rolls 38.

It has been discovered that with tow speeds less than about 625 yards per minute, angle or may be between 30 and However for tow speeds greater than about 625 yards per minute, angle a must be in the range between 3 30 and 90. That is, the fluid stream from the jets must have a component which is countercurrent to the air flow generated by the moving tow. Although in the illustrated and preferred embodiment the jet mechanism 42 has been disclosed as a general toroidal member which includes a large number of inwardly directed jets, other configurations are operative. Also, severance of threadline 22 may be effected by means other than that shown in FIG. 1. For example, the illustrated structure performed satisfactorily with three-fourths of its jets plugged. A single jet, properly directed, will accomplish the same result, hence a portable or fixed aspirator gun may be readily modified to not only collect the waste yarn but to also simultaneously blast the threadline into the tow and sever the waste from the tied-in threadline. However, providing a plurality of jet orifices reduces the likelihood of operator error and renders the tie-in process much easier.

It has been found that the air pressure supplied by chambers 52 and 54 should be increased as the tow speed goes up. Thus at low speeds 40 psi. sufiices, while at speeds above about 625 yards per minute, air pressures up to 90 psi. may be required. Selection of an appropriate pressure for a given jet orifice size and a given tow speed may readily be made by one skilled in the art.

It should be noted that air is supplied to jet mechanism 42 only momentarily, during the actual tie-in operation. This not only reduces air consumption, but avoids disturbing or entangling the tow unnecessarily as might occur if air were continually supplied to jet mechanism 42.

Although the above description has referred to tow 24 as including a large number of individual threadlines, which is normally the case, the present method would be equally satisfactory if tow 24 consisted of a single threadline. Thus only the first threadline must be threaded through the entire system; later threadlines may be readily tied in to any running threadline or tow by the present method. This cannot be accomplished on friction and false twist type tie-in devices, which may require as many as eight 2700 denier single ends to be running before another end or threadline can be consistently tied in at high speed. It should likewise be understood that neither the tow source nor the threadline source need be a spinning machine.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be madein carrying out the above method and in the construction set forth without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompany drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A method for incorporating a separate threadline into a tow moving from a source to take-up means, said method comprising, in combination:

(a) momentarily blowing an intermediate section of said threadline into an adjacent intermediate section of said tow with at least one fluid jet directed toward said tow at an angle a greater than about 30 and less than about 150,

(b) and substantially simultaneously severing said threadline at a point near said intermediate section and between said intermediate section of said threadline and said take-up means.

2. A method for incorporating a separate threadline into a tow moving at a speed greater than about 625 yards per minute from a source to take-up means, said method comprising, in combination:

(a) momentarily blowing an intermediate section of said threadline into an adjacent intermediate section of said tow with at least one fluid jet directed toward said tow at an angle a greater than about 30 and less than about (b) and substantially simultaneously severing said threadline at a point near said intermediate section and between said intermediate section of said threadline and said take-up means.

3. A method for incorporating a separate threadline into a tow moving from a source to take-up means, said method comprising, in combination:

(a) momentarily blowing an intermediate section of said threadline into an adjacent intermediate section of said tow with a plurality of fluid jets directed toward said tow at angle 06 greater than about 30 and less than about (b) and substantially simultaneously severing said threadline at a point near said intermediate section and between said intermediate section of said threadline and said take-up means.

4. A method for incorporating a threadline into a tow moving at a speed greater than about 625 yards per minute from a source to take-up means, said method comprising, in combination:

(a) momentarily blowing an intermediate section of said threadline into an adjacent intermediate section of said tow with a plurality of fluid jets directed toward said tow at angles a greater than about 30 and less than about 90,

(b) and substantially simultaneously severing said threadline at a point near said intermediate section and between said intermediate section of said threadline and said take-up means.

5. A method for incorporating a threadline into a tow moving from a source to a tow take-up means, said method comprising, in combination:

(a) continuously collecting said threadline with an auxiliary take-up means while aligning said threadline substantially parallel with and closely adjacent said tow,

(b) and substantially simultaneously:

(1) momentarily blowing an intermediate section of said threadline into an adjacent intermediate section of said tow with at least one fluid jet directed toward said tow at an angle a greater than about 30 and less than about 150,

(2) and severing said threadline at a point near said intermediate section and between said intermediate section of said threadline and said auxiliary take-up means.

6. A method for incorporating a threadline into a tow moving at a speed greater than about 625 yards per minute from a source to a tow take-up means, said method comprising, in combination:

(a) continuously collecting said threadline with an auxiliary take-up means while aligning said threadline substantially parallel with and closely adjacent said tow,

(b) and substantially simultaneously:

(1) momentarily blowing an intermediate section of said threadline into an adjacent intermediate section of said tow with at least one fluid jet directed toward said tow at an angle a. greater than about 30 and less than about 90,

(2) and severing said threadline at a point near said intermediate section and between said intermediate section of said threadline and said auxiliary take-up means.

7. A method for incorporating a threadline into a tow moving from a source to a tow take-up means, said method comprising, in combination:

(a) continuously collecting said threadline with an auxiliary take-up means while aligning said threadline substantially parallel with and closely adjacent said tow,

(b) and substantially simultaneously:

(1) momentarily blowing an intermediate section of said threadline into an adjacent intermediate section of said tow with a plurality of fluid jets directed toward said tow at angles a greater than about 30 and less than about 150,

(2) and severing said threadline at a point near said intermediate section and between said intermediate section of said threadline and said auxiliary take-up means.

8. A method for incorporating a threadline into a tow moving at a speed greater than about 625 yards per minute from a source to a tow take-up means, said method comprising, in combination:

(a) continuously collecting said threadline with an auxiliary take-up means while aligning said threadline substantially parallel with and closely adjacent said tow, 1

(b) and substantially simultaneously:

(1) momentarily blowing an intermediate section (2) and severing said threadline at a point near said intermediate section and between said intermediate section of said threadline and said auxiliary take-up means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Miller 22697 Penland 28-72 Ashby et a1. 22697 X Fish 5734 Gonsalves 57--22 X McDonald 2847 X 20 LOUIS K. RIMRODT, Primary Examiner. 

